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Oct 27, 2023

10 Influential Tuning Shops In The American Auto Tuning Scene

Whether you want to enhance the power of your sports car or make your pickup

Whether you want to enhance the power of your sports car or make your pickup truck the fastest out there, these car tuning shops will make it happen.

Car tuning shops have been a mainstay since the dawn of "Hot-Rods" in the late 1930s. Some of the most famous names today are AMG, John Cooper Works, Cosworth, and a slew of Japanese car tuning icons such as Mugen and Spoon Sports. All of those companies are built on the automotive fraternity's lust for power and ability to tinker. However, gone are the amateurs in leather jackets obsessing over carburetor upgrades; since the late '50s, tuning has become a genuine profession. In fact, experienced vehicle tuners earn anywhere around $80,000 per annum today.

When it comes to American car tuning culture, there have been many greats. But none as great as Hennessey Performance. While the likes of Saleen and Ruf Automobile have manufactured their own cars before, Hennessy's Bugatti-killing 2011 Venom GT was something else. In fact, the Venom GT is what made Hennessey the world's greatest tuning shop. Even today, Hennessey's Venom F5 successor is in the top three fastest gasoline-powered cars in the world, sporting a ludicrous top speed of 311 mph, thanks to Hennessey's very own "Fury" 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine pumping out 1,817 horsepower! Be that as it may, let's look at the most significant car tuning shops founded in the United States that likely carried influence over John Hennessey's thirst for power.

Founded in 1958 by George Hurst in Pennsylvania, the car tuning company rocketed to fame for their manual shifters, even working with legacy manufacturers to create OEM components. Hurst manufactured parts for every man and his dog, such as AMC, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. The car tuning shop even created limited production vehicles for multiple American classics and manufactured life-saving apparatus, such as the "Jaws of Life." The company's 350 lb hydraulic spreader allows first responders to rescue victims trapped in their vehicle during a car accident.

The car tuning shop's best work came from the 1968 Hurst/Olds 442. Hurst took the classic muscle car up to 390 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, leading to a 0-60 mph time of sub-five seconds… in 1968! The Hurst/Olds 442 features signature Hurst gold stripes and a two-tone silver finish, a trend that continues today after Hurst was re-established in 2008, working on the Dodge Viper and Challenger models.

Beginning as a Chevrolet dealership in 1934, the Yenko name became a notoriously famous car tuning shop thanks to its founder's son, Don Yenko. Don took over the dealership in 1957 and continued his tinkering hobbies from his racing days, dealing exclusively with Chevrolet performance cars that arrived on his forecourt.

Being a Chevy man and a race car driver, Don Yenko quickly fell in love with the 1966 Chevrolet Camaro, placing the Yenko badge upon it with the 1966 Yenko Super Camaro. The Yenko tuning shop armed GM's flagship pony car with a burly 427 V8 engine, forcing 450 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque through its rear axle alongside a bevy of performance upgrades. However, Don Yenko's most crucial project arrived with just 220-250 hp. The 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Turbo Z was Don Yenko's final product, showing gearheads a way forward beyond the devastating malaise era.

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Arriving in 1994 under the stewardship of Ryan Friedlinghaus, the California-based West Coast Customs is the wackiest car tuning shop around. The company is known for starring on MTV's Pimp My Ride during the early 2000s. Their creative exploits continue to attract top-shelf celebrities today. Well, mainly will.i.am.

West Coast Customs continue to work out of LA, creating ludicrous automobiles focused on aesthetic flair. Love or hate them, West Coast Customs is one of the most creative tuning shops in the industry, capable of installing low-resolution flat screens wherever you please.

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Founded by America's favorite automotive tuner in 1962, Carroll Shelby's Shelby American tuning shop famously utilized the Texan's penchant for speed when crafting the notorious AC Cobra. The 1959 LeMans winner stuffed the British roadster with a 4.7-liter V8 from Ford to thwart the Chevrolet Corvette's status as America's finest sports car. By 1967, the Shelby Cobra developed an earth-shattering 355 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque thanks to a Ford 427 V8 engine found onboard.

Shelby American's relationship with Ford blossomed into multiple vehicles. Timeless icons include the LeMans winning Ford GT40, the Shelby GT500, and the one-of-one Shelby GT500 Super Snake. The Shelby American tuning shop went on to work with Chrysler and Dodge, building stunning high-performance vehicles that stand the test of time.

Even today, the Shelby GT500 is the most powerful production car wearing the Ford badge. Despite Ford handling production duties, Shelby American can still transform your Shelby GT500 with their "Code Red" package. The Code Red package from the notorious car tuning shop takes the GT500 up to 1,300 hp alongside a whopping 1,000 lb-ft of torque!

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Founded by NASCAR legend Jack Roush, or "the cat in the hat," the car tuning shop, Roush Performance, remains fiercely loyal to Ford products, just as their founder intended. In fact, Roush performance cars can be purchased directly from participating Ford dealers, with custom VINs certifying the vehicle's custom heritage.

The company's most recent exploits saw the 2020 Jack Roush Mustang come to fruition, sporting a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine based on the infamous Coyote V8. Roush developed a whopping 775 hp from their V8 engine, "challenging" the Hellcat V8 head-on. The limited production Jack Roush Mustang is one of 60, featuring timeless performance upgrades such as the tuning shop's very own Phase 3 Supercharger, Roush MagneRide suspension, and a Roush H-Pipe Active exhaust system. A 2020 Jack Roush Mustang can go from 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds, similar to the factory-built Shelby GT500.

Founded by former racing driver Steve Saleen in 1983. The California-based car tuning shop manufactured the S7 supercar between 2000-2009, featuring Ford's iconic naturally aspirated 7.0-liter Windsor V8 engine. Saleen's S7 supercar produces a brain-melting 750 hp when optioned with twin turbochargers. The 2006 Competition Package pumps out a whopping 1,000 hp. The Saleen S7 was America's first RWD supercar.

Saleen also offers heavily tinkered Ford Mustang muscle cars, various iterations of Ford trucks, and a barrage of performance components. Customers can even purchase their Saleen GTX, the car tuning shop's latest take on the Tesla Model S, which develops 671 hp.

Reeves Callaway founded Callaway Cars as a one-stop car tuning shop for Corvette owners. Callaway began as a turbocharger manufacturer, working for the likes of BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz. His efforts caught the eye of Chevrolet, who started installing a Callaway Twin-Turbocharger to their Corvette C4 under option code B2K. The most powerful of which produced 880 hp aboard the aptly named Callaway "Sledgehammer" during the torrid late '80s.

Callaway continues to tinker with the very best performance cars from General Motors, including their inbound supercharged iteration of the C8 Corvette, which arrives with a 2.3-liter twin-screw Triple Cooled Supercharger.

Hailing from Decatur, Indiana. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering has been dabbling with General Motors products since 1973. In fact, Lingenfelter is so in love with GM products, they once sold body kits that could convert your modern Camaro into a futuristic Trans Am!

One of the most notable vehicles powered by the Lingenfelter car tuning shop is a little-known 1969 Z28 Camaro. The outlaw racer, "Big Red," manufactured in 1987 by father and son Dan and R.J. Gottlieb, drew power from an 8.8-liter V8 race engine manufactured by Lingenfelter. The 800 hp brute continues today despite a horrific 150 mph crash in 1987.

One of the more recent American tuning shops, Singer Vehicle Design, has dealt exclusively with Porsche vehicles since their inception in 2009. Robert Dickinson named his company after famous Porsche engineer Norbert Singer, and a nod to his role as frontman of the British rock band Catherine Wheel. Singer's iconic Porsche restomods arrive with a steep price and an equally steep waiting list. Their first project was a 1969 Porsche 911T, featured on Top Gear in 2014.

Today, Singer "restores and re-imagines" Porsche models ranging between 1989-1994, using hand-crafted techniques for exquisite interior/exterior upgrades. The luxurious tuning shop in California outsources most of its mechanical tuning to fellow car tuning shops such as Cosworth UK.

Hennessey Performance rose to prominence in 1991, thanks to its founder, John Hennessey. Many would consider them the greatest American tuning shop of all time for projects such as the Hennessey Mammoth, which takes the Silverado 1500 up to 1,000 hp+! Unlike most American tuning shops, Hennessey has famous products sporting Ford, GM, and Chrysler badges.

However, the company's big break came in 2011. After borrowing the chassis from the Lotus Exige, Hennessy Performance turned the automotive world upside down with their 2011 Venom GT. The hypercar drew power from a Hennessey twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V8 engine based on the General Motors' LS7 block. The car tuning shop's Bugatti-killer hit an earth-shattering 270.49 mph at the Kennedy Space Center in 2014. The Venom GT was the fastest production car in the world until the Koenigsegg Agera RS snatched its crown in 2017. Quite a feat for a mere tuning shop.

Sources: Roush Performance, Saleen.com, Bigred.com

An automotive writer based in the UK, suffering with an unhealthy obsession for cars and Formula One.​​​Providing commanding content that attracts attention and entertains all at the same time is key.At the weekends, you can find him Driving past Williams Racing making high pitch V10 noises with his mouth.... daring to dream...